American-Canadian actor Matthew Perry, best known for his role in the sitcom Friends, died on October 28th. He was only 54 years old. Now the cause of death has been announced. According to the autopsy, he died as a result of the acute effects of taking the anesthetic ketamine. The agent is used in human and veterinary medicine. In humans, ketamine is used for anesthetic purposes, primarily in emergency medicine.
Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. Like that Peoplemagazine reported, drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine (a drug used to treat opioid use disorder) were also listed as contributing factors in Perry’s death, according to a coroner. The death was ruled an accident.
Last year, Perry released his autobiography, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” In it he wrote openly about his decades-long battle against his addiction to alcohol, drugs and pills. The book says, among other things: “I’ve spent well over seven million dollars getting sober. I’ve been to 6,000 AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings. I’ve been to 15 rehabs and a mental institution. I’m Went to therapy twice a week for 30 years. I had one foot in the grave.”
Addiction dominated his life for decades. His problem was mainly cigarettes, alcohol and painkillers, sometimes dozens of pills a day; he was afraid of heroin, which may have saved his life, Perry wrote.
Perry saw the roots of the disease in his childhood. His mother – a model and journalist who later worked for then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau – and his father, an actor, were both very young when Perry was born and separated shortly afterwards. Perry grew up with his mother in Canada and rarely saw his father in Los Angeles. As a teenager, he then moved in with his father – which caused a big argument in the family, he wrote in the book.
In the 80s, Perry had his first television and film roles. His greatest success was Friends. As Chandler Bing, he made millions of fans laugh every week while earning millions of dollars. He was never married. In his autobiography he wrote that many of his private relationships had failed because of his addiction.